CHÂTEAU BEYCHEVELLE
2006 4ème Cru Classé Saint Julien
| Colour | Red |
| Origin | France, Bordeaux |
| Sub-district | Haut Médoc |
| Village | Saint Julien |
| Classification | 4ème Cru Classé |
| ABV | 13.5% |
Light nose, lightish wine. Not the level of charm one might (vainly, in recent years) hope for - but elegant and fruity. Rating: 86 L&S (Apr 2007)
| 12 | ||
*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.
The 2006 Beychevelle is a solid effort in a difficult vintage, and perhaps this bottle has the edge on the one poured blind six months earlier. There are blackberry, briar and loam traces on the nose, with light cassis notes, again lending it a Margaux-like florality. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit, rounded in texture with that touch of truffle, though it just feels a bit muddled on the finish. Here is where it stumbles. Tasted at the Beychevelle vertical at the property. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 89 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2023)
Tasted blind. Evolved rim. Good drive and freshness. Slightly sweet simplicity. Round and with lots more still to give. Drinking range: 2016 - 2032 Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2023)
Bright, deep red. Musky currant, licorice, tobacco, cedar and herbs on the nose and palate. Juicy and on the lean side but with very good focus and cut to its flavors. Characterized more by its vinosity and elegance than by body or power. The moderately long finish features firm tannins that avoid coming off as hard. Rating: 89 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Jun 2009)
Château Beychevelle
St Julien Quatrième cru 1855 Jean-Louis Nogaret de la Valette, the first Duke of Epernon, was a powerful man. He was an Admiral and the Governor of Guyenne under King Henri III and in deference to him, so it is said, ships passing his estate on the River Gironde would dip their sails - this "baisse-voile" (or "bacha velo" in the local Gascon tongue) became "Beychevelle", and accounts for the presence of a rather fanciful ship on the label. The griffon at the prow of said ship echos the griffon in Greek mythology who guarded Dionysus's wine goblet. The fine château was built in the 18th Century, extended in the 19th, and has recently been restored. The vineyards are 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot with a little each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Wines are aged in wood for 18 months, with 50% of the barriques being new each year.
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